“Ack!”

 

The rattling carriage vigorously bumped as soon as it stopped, shocking the sole passenger inside who also bumped his head harshly on the walls.

 

Albert Desanus found himself rudely awoken from his slumber by an aching pain on his head and the resulting dizziness. His eyes, black-bagged from days of travel in a carriage, showed evident frustration.

 

Outside, a man knocked twice on the carriage’s doors.

 

“We have arrived, Sir.”

 

Replied with silence, he knocked twice more.

 

“Sir?”

 

“Yes, I heard you!”

 

Albert stretched the farthest he could within the confines of the carriage. He did not want to greet his new home in terrible shape.

 

Feelings of excitement flew through every vein of his body, in anticipation of the peaceful life he had so longed for ever since that day. He had exerted a lot of effort to end up here, in this small, destitute territory on the edge of the Desanus dukedom.

 

Yes. Today was his first day as the new Baron of Lavin.

 

* * *

 

Looking at the mansion in front of him brimmed with satisfaction, Albert marched forward carrying his large but light suitcase on his right hand. A man and several maids stood in front of the gates, accompanied by several maids - the Head Butler Ned it seems.

 

“Welcome to Lavin, Master Albert,” the Head Butler cheerily greeted, “I am the Head Butler, Ned Harwin.”

 

“I am aware. May I call you Ned?”

 

“Of course, Sir.” He chuckled, and they both shook hands.

 

Albert smiled, “Well then, Ned, I’ll be relying on you a lot.”

Albert noticed that Ned and the maids seemed strangely nervous, but he figured out why after seeing the mansion up close.

 

From afar, the brick-red mansion seemed like the ideal countryside retreat for aristocrats - not large in their standards, yet not small either. Sported with a wide green lawn, the mansion was perfect for wealthy families - even commoners - to raise their families in. It was also one of the reasons why Albert chose Lavin.

 

Up close, however, one could see the apparent decay. Cracks revealed themselves on the brick walls, moss emerged out of numerous holes, while the green lawn, which from afar seemed immaculate, actually housed wild weeds and had some ugly patches of dirt in between the greens.

 

Truthfully, Albert had expected as much from what the previous baron wrote to him in a letter, but it looked like the greedy bastard downplayed the condition of his estate. Albert felt a little upset inside that he would have to spend the fortune he brought so quickly.

 

When she comes, this disgrace of an estate would definitely be revived to great lengths. Albert comforted himself thinking this.

 

Through his interactions with the previous baron, who provided the territory’s statistics, Albert was able to examine the territory’s condition as a whole, along with historical records of the territory. Such a sad history for Lavin - once a well-off frontier territory, who failed to retain their relative wealth over the passing ages, and whose ruling house finally died childless.

 

Feeling the cool, light breeze upon him, Albert clutched his fists in strong resolve.

 

* * *

 

Compared to the exterior, the interior looked significantly more polished, though rather dull - the staff had taken great care to improving the areas where they could, a fact Albert was grateful for. 

 

The gentle creaking of the wooden floors ignited a homely sense within Albert, as if deep down he had already accepted this place as home. This place is the place where he would raise his future family with her, he had long decided, a fuzzy feeling enveloping his heart.

 

Ned and Albert arrived at an ornately-carved wooden door in the middle of the second floor, which Ned opened, revealing a sparsely-decorated, but neat and clean office surrounded by bookshelves, a large window penetrating light from outside and providing a view of the town below.

 

In awe, Albert marveled at the town displayed in front of him; while destitute, it seemed that the Lavin’s inhabitants had taken care of the town well. In fact, had this been his original world, Albert held no doubts that Lavin could have transformed into a tourist destination after a bit of refining.

 

Ned chuckled, “Do you like the sight, My Lord?”

 

“Yes, it is a pleasant surprise,” Albert replied.

 

“While our days have long passed, we people of Lavin have never abandoned our duty to the city. Even our previous lord, despite his... unbecoming ways, has always respected the city and its people,” Ned continued, in a serious tone.

 

“It is my wish, and hope, that you will do so too, My Lord.”

 

Looking at Ned, who bowed to him, Albert couldn’t help feel touched and impressed by the dedication shown here. He smiled, “I will, Ned.”

 

“Thank you, Sir. Now that you have arrived, what course of action will you take?”

 

“As much as I would like to rest, a lord who sleeps on his first day of the job would make a terrible impression. Lavin has a council, correct?”

 

“Would you like to meet with them, Sir?”

 

“If you could arrange that, please.”

 

* * *

 

While Ned gathered the council, Albert stayed in the study writing a letter to a certain somebody, as he had promised.

 

Two knocks rung on the door just as he finished enveloping the letter. “My Lord.”

 

“Come in, Ned.”

 

“The council will gather at the Hall this evening, and they have also requested you to attend,” Ned said.

 

“Thank you very much, Ned,” Albert smiled, “And by the way, can you send a letter to Sephan from here? How long would it take?”

 

“Sephan? Certainly yes, Sir, however since the royal postal service has not reached here yet it is best to wait for the traders to come at noon.”

 

“I see…”

 

“Sephan is quite literally next to us, so it would take less than an hour through the usual roads.”

 

“Then I will leave this to you, Ned,” Albert said, handing the letter to Ned.

 

“Are you… writing to Baron Sephan’s daughter?”

 

Albert chuckled, “Well, you see, I am getting married soon.”